The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill has been introduced as a private member’s bill by Liam McArthur, the Liberal Democrat MSP for the Orkney Islands.

Mr McArthur last year said the “current prohibition on such assistance is unjust and causes needless suffering for many dying people and their families across Scotland”.

The renewed push to legalise assisted dying in Scotland comes amid a significant move in that direction in France, as well as the recent legalisation of assisted dying and euthanasia in Portugal.

However, a joint statement from Rev Dr Iain MacLeod Greenshields, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and Rev Bishop John Keenan, Bishop of Paisley, said they “do not believe that this is the correct approach to the alleviation of suffering”.

They said: “The ways in which similar laws in other countries are being applied, and the effect that its introduction would have some of the most vulnerable in our society, including older people and people with disabilities, would be extremely detrimental. Society is called to care for those who are suffering, not to end their lives.

“The Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland remain firm in their opposition to assisted suicide and euthanasia.”